CT 

27-S- 



GEORGE S. HALE, A.M. 

A MEMOIR 



PREPARED FOR THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



BY 

ARTHUR B. ELLIS 




^ 



.^JfaXi_ 



GEORGE S. HALE, A.M. 

A MEMOIR 



PREPARED FOR THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



BY 

ARTHUR B. ELLIS 



CAMBRIDGE 
THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 

JOHN WILSON AND SON 
1899 



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In exchange 
MAY 16 1316 



MEMOIR. 



In the earlier years of the nineteenth century the town of 
Keene occupied much the same position, socially and com- 
mercially, in the State of New Hampshire that Northampton 
held in Massachusetts. Its isolated position fostered a natural 
growth and sturdy self-reliance. Any one who remembers 
Keene in the old days and at the same time is at all fa- 
miliar with the story of Northampton (that beautiful town in 
the Connecticut valley, less than fifty miles distant from its 
northern neighbor), as told by Mrs. Lesley in her " Recollec- 
tions of my Mother," will see the point of comparison. Sixty 
years ago no railroad connected the New Hampshire town 
with the New England sea-coast. In a school-boy letter from 
George S. Hale to his father, dated Exeter, New Hampshire, 
Thursday evening, October 14, 1839, he writes : " Speaking of 
going home . . . there is a railroad progressing from here to 
Haverhill by which when opened you can go to Boston by 
railroad, and then to Nashua from Boston, thence to Keene. I 
don't know that it will be finished so soon that I can go home 
that way ; if not, I can go to Haverhill by stage, thence to Bos- 
ton, etc., by railroad." An article on Keene, by Mr. Francis 
S. Fiske, an old friend of Mr. Hale, in the " New England 
Magazine " for October, 1897, contains a reference to the com- 
petition which finally (in 1848) connected the place by rail, 
doubly, with distant parts. 

With this town of southwestern New Hampshire were iden- 
tified people who followed the higher callings of life, in many 
instances attaining eminence. As an instance of intellectual 
alertness, Mr. Fiske, in the article referred to, says : " ' Sartor 
Resartus ' was read and commented on [in Keene] before it 



4 

was generally known in England, and before the letters of 
Emerson had brought it into notice here." 

In this beautiful town of Keene, " in the valley of the 
Ashuelot," George Silsbee Hale was born, September 24, 1825. 
His second name, " Silsbee," was in "honor of Nathaniel Sils- 
bee, of Salem, Massachusetts, who was a contemporary of his 
father in Congress. George was the third and youngest child 
of Salma and Sarah Kellogg (King) Hale. The father of 
George Hale was a man of fine character and attainment. He 
served in Congress as a representative from New Hampshire. 
As an author he is specially known by a History of the United 
States. This work, though now superseded, for a long time 
met with great success. It was often published, editions ap- 
pearing not only in this country but also abroad, — in London, 
in 1826, 1827, 1836, and 1848 ; in Aberdeen in 1848. 

" Descendants of Thomas Hale," a large and admirable work 
compiled by Hon. Robert Safford Hale, an eminent represen- 
tative of the ancestral stock, contains a sketch of Hon. Salma 
Hale, which was written by George S. Hale. This account 
shows that Mr. Salma Hale "took an early and active interest 
in promoting temperance, education, and the abolition of slav- 
ery, and in the Unitarian movement. While in Congress he 
opposed the Missouri Compromise, and lived to see the politi- 
cal and religious theories and reforms which he advocated 
when they were unpopular, accepted and powerful in the 
nation." 

In an account of Sarah King Hale, dated Boston, May, 
1896, written by one of the family for the " Mount Vernon 
Ladies' Association of the Union," bound with a portrait of 
Mrs. Hale and a copy of her address " To the Women of 
New Hampshire," on behalf of Mount Vernon, some mention 
of her birth, ancestry, and great personal attraction is given. 
" Mrs. Hale was born in Boston, Massachusetts, August 31, 
1798 ; the daughter of Seth and Susannah King. Her grand- 
uncle, Captain Seth King, was a captain in the old French 
War, assisted in the capture of Havana under Duke of 
Albemarle and Admiral Pocock, in 1762, and died in New 
York in that year. His sword is in the possession of her son. 

" Miss King at an early age lost her parents, and came under 
the care of Miss Catharine Fiske, who for many years was 
the head of a school for girls in Keene, of the highest reputa- 



tion. Hon. Salmon P. Chase, afterwards Chief Justice of the 
United States, was a pupil of Miss King." 

Speaking of her home after she married Mr. Salma Hale, it 
is further said : " Their home at Keene was long the seat of 
intellectual culture and cordial hospitality, so that when the 
[Mount Vernon] Association was founded she seemed a fitting 
choice for its first representative in the State, and earnestly 
engaged in the work." 

The mother of George Hale was a beautiful representative 
of New England womanhood. She had rare personal attrac- 
tions. So widespread was the graceful spell which she wove 
that the county gentry, tradition says, rode long distances to 
Keene to see the charming lady. Late in life, even, she did 
not lose a vivacity of temperament. " Dancing on the green," 
that picturesque form of country amusement (which, as many 
remember, not so long ago was part of the Class-Day celebra- 
tion at Harvard College), was continued by Mrs. Hale, outside 
the house in Keene, down to a period of her life when it was 
not usual in that part of the world to indulge in such form of 
entertainment. 

At the same time the mother of George Hale was a gentle- 
woman, whose ideas of Christian nurture seemed to be in keep- 
ing with the sober standards of the day. In a little note 
addressed to " Master George S. Hale," who is at school in 
Walpole, New Hampshire, she writes: "I will copy for you 
these lines, which j'ou may commit to memory, and repeat to 
yourself every morning. 

" Oh ! dear mamma, I wish I was a King, 

How I should like to sit upon a throne. 
It would be such a wondrous clever thing 

To rule and have a city of my own. 
That you may do, my boy, and shed no blood, 

Nor quarrel with your neighbour for the thing. 
Rule your own self, govern your life, be good ; 

That is your Kingdom, then yourself a King." 

The name of " Sarah King Hale, Vice-Regent for New Hamp- 
shire," is signed to a printed "Appeal" (before mentioned), 
dated Keene, November 16, 1858, which was issued " To the 
Women of New Hampshire," on behalf of the movement for 
the preservation of Mount Vernon. 

With these antecedents, it is not strange that in later life 



6 

the son George should have shown a peculiar and character- 
istic prominence in philanthropic work. His early education 
was in New Hampshire. At the age of nine he was taught 
at Walpole, about twelve miles north of Keene, on the Con- 
necticut River ; then in Concord, and, finally, entered Phillips 
Exeter Academy, September 13, 1839, when about fourteen 
years of age. Phillips Exeter at that time, as later, bore a 
high reputation as a preparatory institution for college. 

As a boy, one of his friends says, he had tremendous strug- 
gles with bursts of passion. His great strength finally secured 
the mastery. This circumstance is referred to simply as show- 
ing that the quiet and gentle firmness which characterized his 
mature life was all the more noble as the result of a severe 
self-discipline. 

He entered Harvard at less than fifteen years of age. The 
college course was marked with high honor. He belonged to 
what may be called a literary set of young men, who aspired 
to something bej^ond mere social prestige, though by no means 
scorning the privileges of simple good-fellowship. The elab- 
orate report of " The Class of 1844," prepared by Edward 
Wheelwright, shows that George S. Hale took a prominent 
place in college, both in scholarship and socially. He stood 
among " the first eight of the Phi Beta Kappa in 1842," and 
graduated with high rank. 

In a letter to his father while an undergraduate, he gives an 
account of the famous Cap and Town affair, between Boston 
teamsters and Harvard students. " I presume you have seen 
'ere this occasional notices of difficulties arising from our wear- 
ing ' Oxford Caps.' There has been a good deal of excitement 
about it, and I have not the least doubt that had there been a 
contest between us and the ' rowdies,' some one or more than 
one would have been killed. I have hitherto escaped any in- 
jury. I had the pleasure on Saturday of having a mob of 
some two hundred tagging at my heels, hooting, hissing, etc., 
but no one touched me. Probably you will get as good an 
idea of the whole affair from the newspapers as I can give 
you. I will only add, what I have not seen noticed there yet, 
that some diabolical wretch, probably a ' rowdy,' set fire to 
Massachusetts Hall last night Monday, and that combustibles 
were discovered ready disposed for ignition in Hollis H. The 
truckmen, etc., have threatened to come out here and attack 



us ; possibly they may yet, and if they do, in all probability 
some blood will be shed." 

Among his correspondents of early life are included Francis 
Parkman, George S. Emerson, and William Bars tow. Mr. 
Hale was specially intimate through life with Francis Park- 
man, Benjamin Apthorp Gould, Francis E. Parker, Henry W. 
Torrey, Josiah Parsons Cooke, Francis S. Fiske, and General 
Edward A. Wild. Between Mr. Fiske and Mr. Hale a rare 
bond of friendship existed, with the milestones frequently 
marked by charming little notes and greetings in prose and 
verse. This friendship began in earliest childhood at Keene. 

After graduation, Mr. Hale seems to have been in an un- 
settled frame of mind as to the calling which he should follow. 
Standing on the threshold of active life, he writes thus to 
George S. Emerson, in a letter dated Keene, November 4, 
1844: " I am still 'in wandering mazes lost' ; the pulpit now 
finds favor in my eyes, and now the bar. Heaven grant I may 
see my way clear soon, for this indecisive state is an excessively 
disagreeable one. Sometimes I think nothing can be more 
productive of true happiness than to engage earnestly and 
devotedly in laboring for the good of mankind, to offer up 
oneself a whole burnt offering, as Charming says, to the human 
race, but there is a question whether after all the ministry 
offers the best opportunity for this." 

In another letter to Emerson, dated Keene, February 25, 
1845, replying to one from Emerson, offering him encourage- 
ment to enter the ministry, he discusses the subject at great 
length, as one intimate friend does with another, egotistically, 
as he is aware ; at the close asking Emerson in "•replies" "if 
possible [to] be more egotistical." In this letter occur these 
prophetic words: "One good determination, however, I have 
reached and mean to rest upon, whatever I may be, to have 
for my first object the good of those around me — of all man- 
kind. My meditations confirm me in this, though leaving me 
uncertain in everything else." 

Mr. Hale stayed in Keene for one year after graduation, then 
returned to Cambridge and studied one year at the Law School. 
His first employment of a definite kind in active life seems to 
have been that of a school teacher. He accepted a position 
in a private establishment for young ladies, at Richmond, 
Virginia. 



At this time and later, weakness of the eyes caused much 
annoyance. The preceptress of this school was Mrs. A. M. 
Mead. Her son, Edward C. Mead, of Keswick, Albemarle 
County, Virginia, who as a boy and later knew Mr. Hale, in 
a letter to Mrs. Hale refers to this period. He speaks in un- 
qualified terms of the assistance which Mr. Hale rendered to 
his mother in the management of the school. He refers to 
" the wonderful success which his genius gave it." With 
Mrs. Mead or Mrs. Chalmers (her later married name) Mr. 
Hale kept up a life-long and intimate correspondence, frag- 
ments of which remain. This new experience, brief as it was, 
— lasting about eighteen months, — marks a certain epoch, 
giving the young man a glimpse outside of puritan New 
England and thus enlarging his views. 

At the close of the service as school teacher at Richmond, 
Mr. Hale travelled extensively in Europe. In one part of his 
journeyings, a friend and he had exciting experiences, " thrill- 
ing adventures," " hair-breadth escapes." Italy was struggling 
with Austria at the time, 1848-49. During the latter year 
Mr. Hale and his classmate, Mr., afterwards the distinguished 
General, Edward A. Wild, of Brookline, as fellow travellers, 
" were taken (so it is recorded in Mr. Wheelwright's report of 
the Class of 1844) alternately for Austrian and Italian spies, 
were once arrested as deserters, and at another time as rob- 
bers." Interesting accounts of travels appeared at this time 
from his pen in two newspapers. One of these newspapers 
was the " New York Tribune," and the name of the other was 

the " Republican," perhaps the " Boston Republican," 

but not, as might be supposed, the " Springfield Republican." 

In spite of the opinion of a German doctor, who told him 
that he would never be able to use his eyes, that he would be 
blind before he was twenty-five, or words to that effect, soon 
after this interview he found relief. He writes from " Gra- 
frath, October 4, 1849," as follows : " I wrote you some days 
since, and in a few days you will, I am sure, be made happy 
by the joyous news I then gave you of the recovery of my 
eyes, and I am equally so to be able to confirm it anew." The 
" recovery " was by no means complete. Trouble with his 
eyes continued through life. 

On arriving home, Mr. Hale began the practice of law in 
Boston. He thus became one of that distinguished company 



9 

from different parts of New England who contributed so much 
to the intellectual prestige which characterized the Boston of 
half a century ago, including, among her adopted sons, Long- 
fellow, Webster, Jeremiah Mason, Peleg Chandler, Andrew 
Preston Peabody, Thomas Starr King, and Francis E. Parker. 
In earlier years Mr. Hale had an office at No. 4 Court Street, 
which became the headquarters of many prominent men. The 
same building and its occupants formed the material for some 
remarks by him before the Bostonian Society many years after 
(namely, in 1890). 

Now began a busy life of public and private service, cover- 
ing nearly half a century. As one looks over the records at 
hand, not scant, yet too meagre to do full justice to all the 
disinterested offices which he rendered, it is hard to know just 
where to lay the emphasis. 

Mr. Hale held but few offices in public life, though he gave 
so much time to work which promoted the commonweal. In 
1857, 1863, and 1864 he served in the Common Council of the 
City of Boston, in 1863 and 1864 as its President. He was 
an Overseer of the Poor for the City of Boston six years, 
1865-71. In 1876 he was appointed on "A Commission . . . 
to consider the treatment of the poor " of Boston, and the 
exhaustive report, which received wide notice (being referred 
to authoritatively in England, for example), is recognized as 
substantially the work of Mr. Hale. 

Although Mr. Hale did not come prominently before the 
public in political office, one service deserves mention, as 
showing that he held the confidence and esteem which are 
necessary for the honorable fulfilment of high position. At 
the request of Governor Andrew, Mr. Hale visited Washing- 
ton in order to secure for the colored troops what they would 
have got in pay if they had been " white troops." With this 
object in view, he called upon President Lincoln and others 
and made his appeal. The errand bore fruit, although the 
fulfilment of its purpose was postponed. Part of one of the 
inscriptions on the monument to Colonel Shaw and his fellow- 
soldiers says that the men in the ranks " served without pay 
for eighteen months till given that of white troops." Many 
years after the war, when the presentation of this memorial 
took place, the incident of his mission seems to have been 
brought anew to the mind of Mr. Hale. He told the story, 



10 

for the first time, to one who, though familiar with his public 
services, was not aware of this event. 

Like so many Massachusetts men, George S. Hale showed 
his political independence at a critical time. He cut loose 
from the old moorings and put out into the open waters ; yet, 
in the words of Seneca, applied by Lowell to the famous leader 
of a great party, Mr. Hale in his course may be said to have 
kept his rudder true. As " one of the vice-presidents of the 
Committee of One Hundred," he gave his support to the inde- 
pendent movement in politics of 1884 in support of Grover 
Cleveland. 

As a supporter of woman suffrage, Mr. Hale persevered in 
holding the argument to high ideals. Speaking of the position 
which George S. Hale took on this question, Colonel Thomas 
Wentworth Higginson wrote as follows in 1882 : " There is no 
doubt that it defeated a man of conspicuous ability who advo- 
cated it; a lawyer of such high standing at the Suffolk bar 
that he would unquestionably, if elected, have been the high- 
est legal authority in the [Massachusetts] House of Represen- 
tatives. It was the boast of those who voted down George S. 
Hale, in the nominating convention of his district, that he was 
defeated because of his woman suffrage opinions." 

As a lawyer, Mr. Hale had a prominent position. He repre- 
sented the American, later the Western Union, Telegraph 
Company, for twenty-five years or more, and held appoint- 
ments as " Clerk and Solicitor of the Boston and Worcester 
Railroad Corporation from February, 1857, to December 1, 
1867, and Solicitor of the Boston and Albany Railroad Com- 
pany from December 1, 1867, to 1871." For ten years longer, 
namely, until 1880-81, he served as counsel for the Boston and 
Albany Railroad. 

One who knew Mr. Hale professionally better than any one 
else says that he was " acute " as a lawyer. Mr. Hale was what 
is known as " a case law} r er." He saw one point and clung to 
it, preferring to make up his mind after a careful study of 
the cases in order to be sure of his ground. He was seldom 
wrong on an opinion which he had gained by patient investi- 
gation. His judgment, in other words, was formed slowky, as 
a rule, but when once shaped, it was almost certain to be 
right. No will which Mr. "Hale made has ever been broken. 
His accurateness was once vouched for by Mr. William G. 



11 

Russell, an eminent Boston lawyer. On one occasion, " a 
certain railroad contract was read to him, in the course of 
business. ' George Hale wrote that,' said Mr. Russell. 'Yes,' 
was the repl} r ; ' but how did you know it ? ' ' Because there 
is not a single clause in it which can mean more than one 
thing.' '" 

His private practice was large, growing more and more of a 
fiduciary character. Yet, when all is told, with all his marked 
and undoubted legal ability and high reputation in his profes- 
sion, to most of his friends it is outside the law that he is 
specially remembered. The poetic element seemed to charac- 
terize largely and impel a nature which was more prone to 
fight the hosts of darkness with "the sword of Gideon" than 
to engage in legal contest, however honorable. 

Mr. Hale was admitted to practice in Virginia during his 
residence in that State. He entered the Suffolk bar by cer- 
tification from Virginia, January 4, 1850. At the time of his 
death, Mr. Hale was " senior member of the Boston bar in 
active practice," Mr. Causten Browne then succeeding to the 
honor. 

For a long time the name of George S. Hale will be remem- 
bered as belonging to one who was willing to give wise counsel 
and take prudent forethought for others, often with slender, if 
any, requital for a service rendered. The late Mr. Thomas 
F. Ring, one of those liberal-minded and noble representatives 
of the Roman Catholic fold who, like Bishop Cheverus, have 
done so much to help on a true Christian brotherhood, told the 
following story at a meeting of " The Conference of Child- 
Helping Societies," held in memory of Mr. Hale : " I recall 
that at one hearing at the State House before the Committee 
on Charities, when Mr. Hale had offered a bill for the separa- 
tion of the poor from the criminals by giving to the Overseers 
of the Poor the care of the almshouses, some one taunted him 
as being ' the paid counsel for a lot of disturbers.' Mr. Hale 
quietly turned on him with the remark, ' I trust this is not the 
last time I shall give unpaid and willing service to the poor of 
Boston.' " 

The influence which Mr. Hale exerted by such disinterested 
service as is above mentioned, no doubt, shaped the course 
of important public action. It revealed the man behind his 
words. One case is specially noteworthy. His earnestness 



12 

prevented the passage of an Act providing for sectarian sup- 
port by public bounty. After the Charity Committee of the 
Massachusetts Legislature had reported in favor of $10,000 
for the House of the Good Shepherd, Mr. Hale made a speech 
" before the Finance Committee which reversed the decision 
of the Charity Committee." Not only was the $10,000 not 
given, but his remarks, it is thought, made a deep impres- 
sion on the minds of " some of the most ardent Catholics 
present." 

As presiding officer of various organized societies, Mr. Hale 
delivered many able and instructive addresses. He was elected 
President of the American Unitarian Association eight times,' 
serving -l a longer period than any of his predecessors " ; 
President of the Boston Children's Aid Society from October 
1, 1886, to the time of his death ; President of the Board of 
Trustees for Phillips Exeter Academy from 1885 to 1893 ; 
President of the Massachusetts Reform Club in 1895, 1896, 
and 1897, and President of the Union Club of Boston from 
1895 to July, 1897, holding both offices to the time of his 
death ; for more than seventeen } r ears he was one of the 
Trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital ; for a long 
period he was Trustee and then Vice-President of the Perkins 
Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind ; he was 
the first President of the Conference of Child-Helping Socie- 
ties, holding the office until the time of his death ; and 
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the First Church in 
Boston in 1894 and 1896. 

The esteem in which he was held for certain high qualifica- 
tions received recognition abroad. He was a delegate (as the 
following testimonial shows) at Paris in 1889 at an inter- 
national conference of charities. 

Boston, June 26, 1889. 
To Dr. Thulie, 

General Secretary of the Congress of Public Assistance, Paris, France. 

Sir, — I take great pleasure in commending to you Hon. George 
S. Hale of this city, who proposes, as an affiliated member, to partici- 
pate in the proceedings of the congress of which you are the general 
secretary. 

Mr. Hale is a man of the highest character and of the stanchest integ- 
rity. He has made a thorough study of charities and all that relates to 
them, and he has practically engaged in relieving the unfortunate and 



13 

in correcting the criminal. He has the additional advantage of speak- 
ing French fluently. 

I am yours very respectfully, 

(Signed) Oliver Ames, 

Governor of Massachusetts. 

Mr. Hale took a prominent part at this cosmopolitan gather- 
ing from twenty-six nations. In the conference he was both 
an essaj'ist and a debater. Towards the close he made the 
following address extemporaneously, using the French lan- 
guage, as in all that he contributed : — 

Congres International d'Assistance, 
Seance du Samedi, 3 Aout. 

M. le Dr. Thulie, secretaire general. Le Congres sera clos ce soir 
. • . je dois vous remercier de votre bienveillance ; bien des erreurs 
ont ete commises par les organisateurs et vous avez eu l'exquise 
delicatesse d'avoir l'air de ne pas vous en apercevoir. 

M. Hale. Mesdames, messieurs, je voudrais pouvoir m'exprimer 
avec toute la purete de la langue franchise, pour vous dire combien 
nous avons ete touche de vos dedicates attentions a notre egard. Tous 
ici, vous etes venues apporter votre experience, votre devouement a la 
solution de ces questions dont dependent plus que la politique, l'exist- 
ence des nations. (Tres bien.) A vous, mes collegues franc.ais, je 
dirai que nous n'oublions pas, aux Etats Unis, que c'est a l'assistance de 
la France que nous devons notre existence nationale. Aussi marchons 
nous sur ses traces le plus que nous pouvons, mais nous sommes jeunes 
encore et il faut nous donner quelque temps pour atteindre nos devan- 
ciers. Dans trois ans, nous feterons l'anniversaire de la decouverte de 
l'Amerique par Christophe Colomb ; je vous invite tous a venir a cette 
epoque au congres, nous decouvrir de nouveau." (Bravos. Applau- 
dissements.) 

The list of historical, literary, charitable, and other organi- 
zations to which Mr. Hale belonged is unusually long. It 
includes, besides our own Society, the New England Historic- 
Genealogical, the New Hampshire Historical, and the American 
Historical societies ; Social Science Association ; American 
Statistical Association ; Society for Psychical Research ; The 
Colonial Society of Massachusetts ; Society for Promoting 
Theological Education ; Massachusetts Congregational Chari- 
table Society ; Society for Propagating the Gospel among the 
Indians and others in North America ; St. Botolph Club of 



14 

Boston and Century Association of New York. Dartmouth 
College gave him an honorary A. M. Mr. Hale took great 
interest in the welfare of Phillips Exeter Academy. He was 
not only a Trustee for many years, but showed special atten- 
tion by frequent journeys to Exeter to visit the Academy and 
see the pupils. The Boston Post, in an obituary notice, says 
that " under his guidance it [Phillips Exeter Academy] has 
become one of the greatest preparatory schools in the country." 
While it is true that Mr. Hale did much in various ways to 
further the interests of the institution, it held a high reputa- 
tion long before the period to which the Post refers. 

The numerous speeches which Mr. Hale delivered on public 
occasions were thorough and admirable, often embellished with 
classical quotations and full of sound learning. One of the 
most striking and characteristic addresses which he made was 
at a meeting less than two months before he died. It was " de- 
livered at the annual meeting of the Mohonk Arbitration Con- 
ference," June 2, 1897, under the title of " The Future of 
Arbitration." This short address coming so late in his life 
is an unusually strong contribution to the efforts to promote 
peace and good-will among all men. 

In the field of literature, more strictly defined, his work was 
limited, no doubt, by the necessities of a busy life. The speci- 
mens which he left show the same thoroughness and often 
poetic touch which characterized his public addresses. The 
list includes memoirs of Harry Hibbard, Joel Parker, Theron 
Metcalf, and Martin Brimmer. Without disparaging the 
merits of other verse which he composed, only one selection 
is here made. Mr. Hale wrote the following poem in honor 
of his classmate, Dr. Benjamin Apthorp Gould, who had 
just come home after completing a wonderful record as 
astronomer in the service of the Argentine Republic : — 

Bright Argo brings a hero back, 
With tales of distant worlds and fair. 
Shining in skies beyond our sphere, 
Yet weighed and numbered by his care. 

Bright with the light of Southern stars, 
He seems to wear a Southern cross ; 
Fit token of the honors won 
Through toil and grief, and pain and loss. 



15 

The wanderer we welcome borne, 
From far-off lands to us unknown, 
Which see with pride his name displayed 
On their bright skies, thus made his own. 

But not alone " The Southern Crown " 
Shall cast its halo round his head ; 
The stars he worshipped in his youth 
Their shining welcomes o'er him shed. 

May their "sweet influence " give him rest ; 
His be the honors they confer ; 
And long unsaid the fated words, — 
" E vivis cessit stelliger!" 
May 6, 1885. 

The memoir of Hon. Harry Hibbard, above mentioned, is 
much more than a biography of an individual. In its broad 
range the account includes sketches of leading practitioners 
contemporaneous with Mr. Hibbard. It was printed in the 
" Proceedings of the Grafton and Coos Bar Association " of 
New Hampshire in 1895. Portraits of both Hibbard and 
Hale accompany the memoir. Either singly or with others, 
Mr. Hale served as legal editor. His associates on the Boston 
Law Reporter at different times were George P. Sanger and 
John Codman. Volumes 16, 17, and 18 of the United States 
Annual Digest were edited entirely by Mr. Hale. " Use and 
Abuse of Medical Charities " is the title of a contribution which 
he sent to the American Social Science Association in Detroit 
(1875). For the " Memorial History of Boston," Mr. Hale wrote 
an elaborate article entitled " The Charities of Boston and 
Contributions to the Distressed of other Parts," and for the 
" Directory of the Charitable and Beneficent Organizations 
of Boston" a valuable legal supplement. Referring to "A 
Manual for the Overseers of the Poor in the City of Boston " 
(1866), Mr. Robert Treat Paine, at a meeting held in memory 
of Mr. Hale, b}^ the Conference of Child-Helping Societies, 
December 1, 1897, says: " This manual has been the corner- 
stone for thorough knowledge on these subjects from 1866 to 
the present time." 

In early days Mr. Hale appears to have added to his pro- 
fessional earnings by receipts from at least one lecture which 
he used at different places. On a fly-leaf of an essay on 
Aaron Burr is written: "Delivered at West Med way, Feb. 



16 

4, 1851, 10 [dollars] ; at Salem, Mch. 6 [1851], 15; Billerica 
[1851], 10; Westfield, Jan. 18, 1854, 20; Salem, Feb. 23 
[1854], 20." 

The influence produced by some of the speeches of Mr. Hale 
was like the impression which is made by strong lay preaching. 
Earnest appeals on behalf of the poor and unfortunate may be 
so worded and delivered as to have the effect of powerful ser- 
mons. It would not be true, perhaps, to say that Mr. Hale 
missed his vocation in not becoming a preacher, but certainly 
a poetic and religious temperament combined with stores of 
learning and fine gifts of expression well fitted him for a 
ministerial career. 

He was among the band of well-known citizens who organ- 
ized the Associated Charities of Boston, and aided and fur- 
thered that enterprise in large degree. 

The amount of pains which Mr. Hale took with the consid- 
eration of laws relating to the position and relief of the poor 
was simply herculean. He became a recognized leader in 
movements for their welfare. So established was his reputa- 
tion, that he was considered the best expert witness to be 
called upon at an important hearing at the City Hall in Boston 
" on the care and management of the Public Institutions," 
which was held in 1894. In 1896 he took a large part in 
preparing a subject for legislation which, after weighty delib- 
eration, finally (in 1897) appeared on the Statute Book of 
Massachusetts, in great measure word for word as originally 
proposed, entitled " An Act to establish separate departments 
of the City of Boston for the care of children, paupers, and 
criminals." 

With all the multiform business engagements which he so 
well fulfilled, he did not neglect claims which even a philan- 
thropically disposed man might easily be excused for over- 
looking. His tender loyalty is referred to in a letter which 
Dr. Edward Everett Hale read at the commemorative meet- 
ing before mentioned. The writer of the letter is described 
by Dr. Hale as " an early friend " of Mr. George Hale. The 
following is a copy of what was thus read, as appears by a 
printed report of the meeting : — 

" Justice will probably be done to Mr. Hale's integrity, fidelity, and 
ability. His indefatigable industry will also be remembered, and per- 



17 

haps the marvellous courage and determination which gave him the 
victory over delicate health and almost useless eyes during mauy criti- 
cal years of his youth. But I can hardly think of any one who will tell 
of the tenderness and loyalty which bound him to his friends and to 
the children of his friends, in sickness aud in health, in joy and in sor- 
row, until death did them part. 

" He was not only faithful to his personal friendships, but he assumed 
those of his parents. For more than forty years he had found time, in 
a most laborious life, to pay frequent regular visits, sometimes in 
distant towns, to several aged people, for the sole purpose of giving a 
friendly greeting to those who had known his mother. One such old 
lady, to whose house these pious pilgrimages were faithfully made for 
years, until her mental powers had quite failed, said to me, ' George 
Hale has been the comfort of my life.' Nothing could exceed the 
sympathy and personal devotion which characterized his relations with 
his intimate frieuds, whose interests were identical with his own. He 
not only loved and served his friends, he was ready to fight for them, if 
need be. 

" These characteristics, together with his exquisite taste in literature, 
and his attitude toward the whole subject of religion, were such a vital 
part of his personality, that I cannot be reconciled to having them 
inadequately presented in any sketch of his life. 

" Nearly fifty years ago, before the observance of Sunday had come 
to be so largely a matter of athletics as now, George Hale begau the 
lifelong habit of spending a large part of the day of rest out of doors. 
He was a prodigious walker, walking always, both from a love of 
nature and in search of health. But it was always his custom to walk 
toward a more or less distant country church, and to arrive in time for 
the morning service, which, I will venture to say, he rarely missed, 
wherever he chanced to be, during his whole life. Indeed, he once 
told me that he often found himself more refreshed by that hour than 
by any other part of the day. ' I often find myself repeating the hymns 
or reconstructing the sermon,' he said, 'as I walk back to town in the 
afternoon ; and so I leave my business behind me.' He was a rarely 
devout man, and he loved the expression of religious feeling with the 
ardor of a truly poetic nature. 

" It was an unusual combination of qualities shown in this sagacious, 
successful man of affairs, and I long to have the young men of to-day 
feel the full inspiration of it." < 

Neither professional nor public cares quenched that spirit of 
good fellowship which made much younger people feel at home 
with Mr. Hale. In those forms of entertainment which are so 
often suggested when people are at a loss for amusement, 



18 

comprehensively called " games," Mr. Hale joined sometimes, 
though having little or no taste for them. On one occasion, 
at least, where knowledge of the Bible was essential, he showed 
himself to be more than a match for his competitors. It was 
supposed that, being a Unitarian, he would not be specially 
well-informed on the Scriptures, but, strange as it may have 
seemed to some of the company, his knowledge of the Book 
soon appeared as something remarkable. Mr. Hale, it has 
been well remarked, was a good " listener." He gave his 
attention sympathetically, though with a slightly amused, 
quizzical smile, it might be, to views which did not accord 
with his. 

His humor was often of a quaint and classical type, some- 
times especially keen and effective. A friend has said that he 
had a "delightful sense of humor which gave him an insight 
into motives, enabled him to share the burdens of others with- 
out becoming depressed by them." The same friend refers to 
his " rare gift of peacemaking ; his expectation that those who 
sought his counsel would keep in mind the claims, rights, and 
preferences of others, even when those others were their 
opponents." 

Another friend has referred to the frequency with which 
Mr. Hale was called upon to settle a literary question. Being 
gifted with an unusually good and well-trained memory, he 
could enlighten you, often, at the time. If not, he was always 
sure to find the right answer. His love of general literature, 
especially of poetry, and of literary fellowship was most 
marked. The poetic side of his nature was so finely wrought 
. that, to one who knew him in younger days, it was not strange 
that it seemed to unfit him for the struggle of practical life. 
Colonel Higginson, not long after Mr. Hale died, recalled the 
delicacy and sensitiveness of manner of the young student. 
He described the modest though "resolute" way in which he 
entered the college chapel. Yet, as Mr. Higginson shows, it 
is the nature such as he describes, which sometimes, as in the 
case of his fellow-student, proves firm as steel. 

Mr. Hale married, November 25, 1868, Ellen, a daughter of 
John Sever, of Kingston, Massachusetts, and widow of Rev. 
Theodore Tebbets. " Colonel John Sever was a leading mer- 
chant, shipbuilder, and owner, and as one of the originators of 
and first president of the Old Colony Railroad, was actively 



19 

engao-ed in its construction. He was the colonel of a Massa- 
cbusetts regiment and held a very high position in Plymouth 
County." An " ancestor, William Sever, was for fifteen suc- 
cessive years prominent in the political life of Massachusetts 
in the most important period of its early history ; a member 
of the Provincial Congress, and at one time president of the 
State Council." Commendable as this record is, the history of 
the Sever family does not end with past generations. The 
name has been well honored in later times. 

Besides two own sons, Robert Sever and Richard Walden, 
Mr. Hale left an only step-son, John Sever Tebbets. Between 
Mr. Hale and his only step-child had grown up a warm and 
devoted attachment, as of father and son. It is interesting to 
note an incident which is referred to by Mr. Wheelwright in 
his class report already mentioned, namely, the attendance 
of the father and two sons, Robert S. and Richard W., together, 
as members of the Phi Beta Kappa, at one of the dinners of 
the society, June 25, 1891. The presence of the father and 
two sons, Robert (1891) and Richard (1892), one as graduate 
of the day previous and the other an " immediate member," 
must have been, at least, a rare occurrence. 

His old friend, Rev. William Orne White, at the funeral 
service at the First Church in Boston, gives a beautiful pic- 
ture of life's journey in its steady progress. He refers to " the 
rosy-cheeked lad as he goes up and down the streets of his 
native village, bringing gladness evermore to the parents and 
sister for whom he lovingly cared down to the hour of their 
latest breath. One might see blended in him the patient 
thought which marked his honored father, and the radiant 
welcome that beamed from the face of his gracious mother. 
. . . Within this ' House of our God,' which is now sheltering 
us, he is a strong pillar. . . . Ah, if be is all this to those who 
met him as a companion or as an adviser, what must he not be 
in his own home ! " 

Mr. Hale never seemed old, that is to say, with the feeble- 
ness which is associated with old age. His capacity for work 
and constant interest in what was going on were remarkable. 
He seemed fitted for longer service in the broad field of phil- 
anthropic effort to which he so early dedicated himself. 

George S. Hale was one of the first to find a home for the 
summer at Mount Desert, before the place became a great 



20 

summer resort. It was in one of the most attractive parts of 
the island. He took great delight in his vacations there. 
Yet, with all the relaxation which the place afforded, a certain 
part of the day was devoted to work. Toil could not escape 
him to the close of his life. As a friend has said, he worked 
to the last day. George Hale was called away as if on high in 
a chariot, like Elijah of old, — "a perfect translation." 

On this beautiful shore of Mount Desert, at a place called 
"Schooner Head," Mr. Hale died, July 27, 1897, in the 
seventy-second year of his age. 

George S. Hale was elected a member of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, April 11, 1867. He was a member at large 
of the Council, 1888-90. From 1882 to 1894 Mr. Hale was 
a frequent contributor to the Proceedings of the Society. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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